I’m so grateful for your willingness to answer these three super quick questions.

With your help, we can make this the BEST Work at What You Love experience ever!

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1. Which BEST describes you? [choose one)I'd love to work at what I love BUT I don't have a clue what I even love to doI have lots interests BUT I can’t seem to pick oneI know what I love to do BUT I have no idea how I can make money doing it.I have a great money-making idea BUT I don’t know where to begin.I know where to begin – BUT I don’t have the confidence to take actionOther (please explain)

2. If the new on-demand workshop included getting your questions answered personally by me, which form of personal coaching would you prefer? (choose one)A live group webinar or Zoom chat where you can see and hear me answer everyone’s questions – including yours?A private Facebook group where everyone can post questions and get answersThe chance to schedule a private 15-minute consultation with meOther (Please explain)

3. People changing course often need different kinds of support at different phases of their work/life. To help me best serve you, what's your general age?20-2930-3940-4950-5960-66Retired or semi-tired

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The latest digital issue of International Living magazine’s niche publication Incomes Abroad just landed in my email and I immediately thought of you.

The publication is aimed at the growing numbers of people seeking to relocate to a country that offers a more affordable lifestyle and slower pace of living.

Other readers want to be able to work from anywhere in the world.

And still others simply want a way to fund their wanderlust.

In all three cases, the focus is 100 percent on how to make money without a job-job.

Which is why I thought of you.

After all, you don’t need to go to Bali or Barcelona to create a portable profit center.

For you, “portable” might mean being able to work from your home-office or from your laptop in a coffee shop right in your own neighborhood.

In other words, this information-packed resource is for anyone who has a burning desire to create a flexible income… and needs help figuring out how to make it happen.

That’s the other reason I’m SO jazzed about the current issue.

No matter where your interests lie, you’ll find fascinating cases studies into the different ways regular people, just like you, saw a need and turned it into an opportunity.

I guarantee you’ll have at least one AHA moment!

Like I said, I just received this month’s issue and frankly I was blown away. It’s packed with inspiring and informative ways you can make money that don’t require a passport.

But I’ll let managing editor Shane Orman tell you what you can expect:

In case I wasn’t clear, you don’t need to travel one bit in order to get a wealth of information that can help you change course.

But if you do want a flexible income so you can work from anywhere… and you want to be your own boss, then do yourself a huge favor and check out this extremely helpful and ridiculously affordable resource now.

How to turn YOUR expertise & services into compelling offers for corporations – without having to twist yourself or conform your beliefs to “fit in.”

The #1 secret to “get past the gatekeeper”. (Belinda has a brilliant example of how one outside vendor got past her own secretary back when she used to be the one hiring outside vendors.)

How to get decision makers to pay attention and take you seriously – even ifyou have no experience working in corporate yourself!

The BIGGEST thing you need to know about corporate decision makers BEFORE you try to connect.

… And more!

Go It Alone or Get Help?

For many of you, getting the answers to these three key questions will be all you need to hit the ground running.

Others will need more guidance.

Looking back, I so appreciate Scott Adams taking time out of his busy schedule to so nicely blow me off.

But what I really appreciate is the reminder that I didn’t need Dilbert to make my newsletter a success.

However, when it comes to corporate contracts, you definitely do want a seasoned corporate insider to at least take you through the basics.

If you’re curious to see how partnering with a large organization might help you profit from your passion in a BIG way – you do not want to miss Belinda’s free presentation Tuesday March 22 (tomorrow) at 1PM EST.

Whether you’re in business already – or you’re still trying to figure out how to profit from your passion – the key to making it remains the same:

You have to find people willing to pay you for your product or service.

In other words – you need customers or clients. That’s the obvious part.

Precisely because it IS so obvious, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking in terms of only the most obvious customer or client.

That’s a huge mistake. Because…

If You Really Want to Profit From Your Passion, You Have To Go Beyond The Most Obvious Client or Customer

Let’s look at how taking an unconventional path enabled these three people to profit from their passions.

A photographer who loves photographing babies… but couldn’t get enough babies in the pipeline to make it sustainable.

He never knew where his next client was going to come from.

He’s now the photographer for the maternity ward at a huge hospital in New York City. So he’s there to capture all the moments surrounding many of the births in that hospital.

It’s a win for the hospital because it gives expecting parents yet another reason to have their babies with them as opposed to a different hospital.

And he gets more work coming in than he could possibly drum up for himself.

Another great example…

A health coach who was tired of trying to convince individuals to sign up as clients who didn’t always understand the value she provided.

Then she noticed that one of her friends from the C-suite in a big company was stressed beyond belief, exhausted, and wasn’t eating well. It gave her an idea…

Today, she has contracts with big corporations where she goes in, assesses all the employees in the C-suite, and develops a meal plan for the company chef.

If the company doesn’t have a chef, she creates individual meal plans and sits down with each executive’s assistant to help them support their boss.

She’s just returned from Paris doing this for a company. Before that, she was in Singapore.

Yet another example…

A LinkedIn expertwho works with people on optimizing their profiles and upping their visibility.

One day, she realized that companies are now doing LinkedIn pages.

But there was a big disconnect between what the company put out versus what their C-suite executives put on their own profiles.

Now, she goes into a company and handles its page, along with all the profiles of its C-level execs. So the company representation is consistent across the board.

In other words, what if you expanded your thinking from selling strictly business to consumer, and explored ways to sell business to business – aka “B2B.”

If you have no idea how to get a corporate contract – or maybe, you see corporations the same way I once did… as big huge mysterious places totally outside of your realm of experience or comfort zone – don’t worry.

Anyone Can Land a Big Contract – IF You Know How

According to Inc. magazine, companies spent 2 trillion dollars last year on outside vendors.

All you have to do to get a piece of these contracts is to package your services and expertise (the exact services and expertise you already have) in a way that shows a corporate decision maker that YOU have their solution.

Don’t worry if you have no clue how to do that.

Because in just a few days, my friend and colleague Belinda Pruyne is going to peel back the curtains and explain all of the above during a free online presentation…

BIG Corporate Connections. BIG Contracts. BIG Cash

3 Keys to Snag BIG Corporate Gigs With The Matching Paychecks(Even if you don’t know the first thing about the corporate world)Tuesday, March 22nd at 1 PM EST US
Go to BigCorporateConnections.info now to save your free spot.

Before she took the leap to self-employment, Belinda spent years as a corporate executive herself.

How to turn YOUR expertise & services into compelling offersfor corporations – without having to twist yourself or conform your beliefs to “fit in.”

The #1 secret to “get past the gatekeeper.” (Belinda has a brilliant example of how one outside vendor actually got past her own secretary back when Belinda used to hire outside vendors for her company.)

How to get decision makers to pay attention + take you seriously – even ifyou have no experience working in corporate yourself!

The BIGGEST thing you need to know about corporate decision makers BEFORE you try to connect.

… And more!

Ready to get some of Belinda’s insider secrets on landing BIG corporate contracts?

That’s when I remembered something Lily Tomlin’s bag lady character said in Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe:

“When I was growing up I always wanted to be someone. Now I realize I should have been more specific.”

So the next time I got specific writing 15 times a day: “The Changing Course newsletter will be in The Wall Street Journal.”

Guess what?!

A year later Work & Family columnist Sue Shellenberger once again interviewed me for an article titled, The Tomorrow Trap: You Can’t Postpone Life. (Although Sue wrote this article 17 years ago, its message about not deferring our dreams is as apt now as it was then.)

My point is — Adam’s technique worked!

Why It Works

There is nothing mystical or magical about writing down your goals.

The technique works, in part, because the process of committing something to writing makes it feel real – and therefore doable.

A phenomenon Adams spoke to in his best-selling book The Dilbert Future:

I used the affirmations again many times, each time with unlikely success. So much so that by 1988, when I decided I wanted to become a famous syndicated cartoonist, it actually felt like a modest goal.

The odds of becoming a successful syndicated cartoonist are about 10,000 to 1. I knew the odds, but figured they didn’t apply to me.

When I submitted my samples by mail to the major cartoon syndicates, I had a feeling of being exactly where I needed to be and doing exactly what I needed to do. I never once doubted it would work out the way it has.

Writing down his goals had a similar confidence-building effect on Lou Holtz.

So much so that before signing a coaching contract at the University of Minnesota, Holtz insisted on a clause that would allow him to leave at any time if offered the head coaching job at Notre Dame.

That day came two years later.

“From the moment we made that list,” says Holtz, “we became participants rather than spectators in life.”

Writing down your goals can definitely put you on the path to achieving them.

Unfortunately, you may still struggle with those inner voices that say things like…

“I don’t know enough.”

“I have no experience.”

And of course, “Who do you think you are?”

If confidence is holding you back, I’m working on a new program called 5 Weeks to Confidence for people just like you.

The program won’t be ready for a month or so… but if you want a heads up when it’s open, click below and I’ll give you a shout.

We’ll talk about the action part of goal setting in another post.

For now I invite you to stop right now to think about a present goal.

Next get out your paper and pen and fill in the blanks: “I, [name], am going to [goal]”?

When you work with as many change seekers as I do, you begin to see some common self-employment dreams.

One is the classic bed and breakfast fantasy.

When I ask these clients what they love about owning a B&B, they often say things like…

“I’d love to pick out furnishings and decorate all the rooms…”

Or, “I’d love to go out to the garden to pick fresh herbs for the cook to use in the special omelet of the day…”

Or, “I’d love to welcome and chat with all the interesting guests.”

Once the guests check out, my clients picture themselves sitting by the fireplace with a good book… or puttering in the perennial garden while the housekeepers tidy up.

Utter bliss.

There’s just one problem.

As many B&B owners have discovered, this familiar B&B fantasy turned out to be a nightmare when realized too late that they don’t have the capital to hire people to do the cooking, cleaning, and office work.

Take a Class

You don’t need to earn a four-year degree in hotel and restaurant management to learn how to run an inn.

Many B&B’s offer weekend workshops for aspiring inn-keepers and some owners do individual consulting.

No classes in your area? Then contact a local B&B and ask if they’d let you intern with them in exchange for some free staffing time once you’re trained.

Or for $125-$199 (slightly more for couples) BB Team offers one-day seminars as well as more intensive (and higher-priced) weekend training programs in Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, and elsewhere.

If you’re ready to take the B&B plunge in a big way – or if like me, you just L-O-V-E looking at real estate – check out BB Team’s listings of fabulous B&Bs for sale. (For more affordable options, check the “lifestyle” box.)

Look, every line work, no matter how interesting it may be, will always have aspects that are less than glamorous. Mine included.

The key is to check out how wide the expanse between fantasy and reality really is, before you take the leap.

So what’s your fantasy business? Post it below.

Then keep your eyes out for the next issue when we explore other ways to test your idea before you change course!

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” George Elliott

Do you have a great idea but no clue how to make enough (or any) money doing it?

Or are you still trying to figure out what you want to be when you “grow up”?

Then again, do you love so many things that you never seem to act on any of them?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I invite you to join me and a community of like-minded souls from around the world to discover how you too can…

Lots of people don’t have the foggiest idea what it is they’d love to do. Here’s a guy who’s plugged into his passion and yet is letting something as natural – and manageable – as fear stand in the way of vocational heaven on earth.

The first thing I did was to remind Jerry of what he should really be afraid of, namely, spending the next 15 years dreading his work.

Next, I suggested some steps he might take to turn his passion into his livelihood like: teaching carpentry classes, writing a how-to-build-it column for the local newspaper, creating his own television segment featuring improvements he’s made to area homes (This Old Carpenter?).

None of these ideas would require Jerry to quit his full-time job right away. Each, however, has the potential to nudge his dream to the next level.

To my surprise, the idea that most intrigued Jerry was also the one most would consider to be a Big Dream – the local television show.

When he told me about a friend with a passion for video production who he could enlist to launch a joint venture, I knew Jerry just upgraded his wish to a dream.

WARNING: Even if you’re just “thinking” about being your own boss, the following information may cause you to experience unexpected exhilaration, a soon to be persistent sense of freedom, and chronic joy.

On January 1st I’ll do what I always do. Set aside time to reflect on my goals for the coming year – health, relationships, spiritual, home, financial, and of course, business.

During the last days of December I’ll also do what I always do. Make sure to take full advantage of every available tax advantage of self-employment.

My friend and author of one of my all-time favorite books Making a Living Without a Job Barbara Winter said it best

“The American tax system is set up to benefit
the very wealthy and the self-employed.”

No surprise if you already have a business.

However if you have not started your business – no make that ESPECIALLY if you have not started a business – there are some important tax facts (and hence major tax savings) that may surprise you.

But you have to hurry!

SURPRISING TAX FACT #1: You can still take a tax deduction even if you haven’t yet made a profit

If you have not yet launched your business you may be surprised to learn that…

Even if you don’t earn anything from your new business until 2013, you can still write off legitimate business expenses incurred in 2012.

According to the United States Internal Revenue Service, as long as your efforts demonstrate an intention to earn a profit, you can begin deducting any money you invest in building your business right away. In their own words:

You do not need to actually make a profit to be in a trade or business as long as you have a profit motive.”

In fact, even if you don’t make a profit for three years, you can still deduct business expenses as long as you are making “ongoing efforts to further the interests of your business.”

Again from the IRS site:

The IRS presumes that an activity is carried on for profit if it makes a profit during at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year…

Save those receipts because deductible expenses include office supplies, phone, internet, advertising, books, postage, magazine subscriptions, bookkeeping services, member dues – just to name a few.

You do not have to carry on regular full-time business activities to be self-employed. Having a part-time business in addition to your regular job or business also may be self-employment.

And being the helpful people they are J the folks at the IRS even provide an example!

You are employed full time as an engineer at the local plant. You fix televisions and radios during the weekends. You have your own shop, equipment, and tools. You get your customers from advertising and word-of-mouth. You are self-employed as the owner of a part-time repair shop.

So that side business making wedding cakes, giving piano lessons, dog sitting, coaching others (sports, life, health, career), or plowing snow (which is what my engineer by day, plow guy by night does) – all qualify to take deductions.

SURPRISING TAX FACT #3: Wherever you are, as long as you’re working – it’s deductible

At Home

If you work from home, you can deduct a portion of your expenses.

So if your home has five rooms and your studio, office, or workshop is in one, generally speaking you can deduct one fifth (20 percent) of your rent or mortgage utilities, and home or tenants insurance.

Check with an accountant on repairs and improvements, but as I understand it… work done to your specific work space – for example, the cost of paint or wall treatments – is deductible.

The same is true for work done to your home as the whole. So unless you have an in-home food related business, you can’t deduct the cost of new cabinets.

But a portion of home repair expenses – a new roof, driveway, or septic system – or general upkeep like landscaping or snow plowing that involve your property as a whole would most likely qualify for a deduction.

On the Road

Let’s say you take a 7 day vacation to the Caribbean or Florida or London.

You take a day to call on local businesses to introduce them to your products or services, scout future seminar locales, do research for your book, interview people for your blog, or shoot an on-site video.

You can’t write off your entire vacation of course. But you can write off any expenses — lodging, meals, car, etc. — incurred for the time you spent doing business.

For seven summers my company (that would be me!) sent me off to a quiet, non-Internet connected lake house in New Hampshire for a one or two week writing retreat.

Since I wrote every day, I was able to deduct my mileage, cottage rental, and the groceries that kept me fat and happy as I worked out on the deck.

SURPRISING TAX FACT #4: Learning is tax deductible!

You may not yet know “how” to make money doing your own thing…

But did you know that your investment in LEARNING qualifies as a legitimate business expense?

After all, what could be more proof of your intention to be profitable then investing a portion of your start-up costs in the education and training required to succeed?

Want to start a business entertaining children? Sign up for the 2013 class of the Red Skelton Clown School.

Basic Business Skills

Maybe you already work for yourself but need to hone certain skills. You can deduct these costs too.

Presentation skills: When I was in the corporate world I attended and then went on to deliver an outstanding 2-day course from an international company called Communispond.

Sales training: Sales expert and friend Carolyn Herfurth runs an excellent, results-oriented course for coaches, healers, and others who need to get more “yeses” but hate to “sell”

Writing your own web site marketing copy Even if you don’t talk to potential customers in person, you still need to get people to buy. Another friend (and new first time dad!) Matthew Goldfarb has a great course that shows you how to create sales pages to turn your website into a cash machine.

Business Building Training

You can also deduct the full cost of home study programs that help you launch your business. Some of my favorites are:

The heart of the course is a proven coaching system to help clients connect the dots between the things they love to do and creative ways they could make money doing it.

But the course also covers things like what to do before, during, and after a laser brainstorming session, how to design a business that works for you, and selecting marketing strategies that play to your strengths and personality.

That makes the course both a training and business launch program.

Which, here again, if your intent is to earn more than the you spent to take the course – and hence a profit, then the tuition qualifies as a tax deductible expense.

If you like the idea of getting paid to brainstorm, there’s another incentive to act now. Register before the Early Bird deadline and you save $500. That means you can get started today for as little as $282.

The bigger point…

Whether it’s this or any course, the smartest move from a financial/tax perspective is always to pay in full because if you do it by December 31. you can write off the entire cost in 2012.

Obviously if you live in Uganda or Norway… or for that matter Utah or Nebraska… it’s more convenient and cost-effective to learn from the comfort of home. Hence, most of my own students opt to attend the online version of the career coach training.

You may be the kind of person who positively thrives on the energy and connection that can only happen at a live training. If that’s you, there’s another tax plus.

SURPRISING TAX FACT #5: Business-related travel is tax deductible

Whether you plan to join me in San Francisco this January, or travel anywhere for any business-related reason — your travel expenses are also a tax write off.

The travel deduction applies even if the event itself is free.

I’m thinking here of Entrepreneur magazine’s 2013 Growth Conference January 10th in Dallas. Thanks to event sponsor UPS, the entire event is FREE. And this year’s keynote is none other than Barbara Corcoran – author, entrepreneur, and star of the hit show Shark Tank.

Plan ahead so you’re ready to pitch your business to the editors (details at the conference page). The line is long, but it moves fast and you’ll meet really neat people!

Regardless of the event, if you want to take the deductions this year, make sure you book your airfare or pre-paid hotel reservations by December 31.

But don’t just think lengthy “business trips” here.

Local trips to the post office, bank, office supply store, or a local networking event – all qualify as business-related travel.

If you take public transportation, save your receipts; if you drive, track your miles. The IRS Standard Mileage Rate for 2013 its 56.5 cents.

That 3-times a week 10 mile round trip to the post office adds up to a whopping 1560 miles a year which equals a $881deduction. And that’s for one just errand.

Timing is Everything!

Barbara Winter turned me on to this cool tax fact:

Warren Buffet became self-employed in 1943 when at the age of 13 he delivered newspapers and sold his own horseracing tip sheet, claiming his bike as a $35 tax deduction.

What about you? Are you serious about being your own boss? If so, then take a moment now to list the classes, conferences, webinars, networking or other live events you know would help you get there.

Then DO IT NOW. I can’t stress enough:

As long as the course tuition and any related travel expenses are posted to your credit card by December 31, 2012 – even if the course itself is not until 2013 – you can write it off this year.

Again that applies even if you’re self-employed part time and even if you have not yet earned a profit.

Live outside the US or Canada? Take the time to learn about possible the tax benefits for entrepreneurs in your country.

Tick Tock

If you want to be your own boss, you need to start thinking like a self-employed person now. This includes being aware of the multiple ways you can start benefiting from the American tax system this very day.

More importantly, if my mother passing away unexpectedly at just 61 taught me anything, it’s to not defer something as important as your dreams.

Time is ticking folks. Taxes aside – please don’t let this year end without taking at least one small step to get you closer to where you want to be in the New Year.

From the Blog

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A New Direction

I decided to take the Work @ What You Love Workshop and also work one-on-one with Valerie. The workshop explored so many unusual and unexpected solutions to my specific questions. I made so many new connections to what clearly works for me in crea...